North Korea: Regime change the only option

Monday

Aug 7, 2017 at 2:00 AMAug 7, 2017 at 8:06 AM

By Peter J. Brown

Senior North Korean military officers need to act soon if they want to save themselves, their families and their country. The U.S. and its allies in East Asia now realize that China and North Korea are not interested in undermining North Korea’s current and future nuclear attack plans, nor its capability to carry them out. And no other player on the international stage, especially Russia, is going to ride to the rescue and somehow intervene successfully on behalf of the U.S. and its allies.

Only one group — the North Korean military elite — can effectively terminate the current dictatorship and put an end to this persistent and mounting threat of global nuclear war. These military officers constitute the only group that can possibly intervene here to prevent the enormous firestorm looming on the horizon.

By its actions and willful disregard of U.N. resolutions, North Korea has created a volatile state of affairs. No other nation has assumed a more threatening posture over the past two decades. Its constant stream of provocations has placed the peaceful existence of the entire world in jeopardy.

Make no mistake about it: The U.S. military is fully prepared to strike. At the same time, Japan has rapidly developed the means to complement any U.S. strike force above and beyond Japan’s often overlooked yet formidable defensive capabilities.

Indeed, very little is being said about the fact that North Korean actions have provided Japan with a perfect excuse to pursue new weapon systems of all types.

As for South Korea, its citizens along with the thousands of U.S. military personnel and their families in South Korea will not be left vulnerable and constantly afraid as North Korea becomes more hostile and better-equipped to strike with each passing month as well.

The U.S., South Korea and Japan will not simply stand by and allow North Korea’s threats to escalate. Millions of Americans, South Koreans and Japanese will never fall victim to a nuclear attack. Places like Seoul, Tokyo, Okinawa, Guam, Honolulu and Los Angeles will not be made into clusters of hostages.

No, this will not be allowed to happen no matter how many propaganda films senior North Korean military officers view in their underground bunkers.

This is not merely a matter of sound political judgement at the highest levels of the U.S. government; this is a reality that senior North Korean military officers must come to terms with — and quickly.

The argument that North Korea’s actions were meant from the beginning to compel South Korea into approving an agreement on reunification favoring North Korea is not necessarily easily dismissed, but it is a viewpoint that is off-target given the magnitude of the anti-U.S.campaign that North Korea openly conducts.

After all, there is only one dictator in place issuing orders. Yet he is not the same person who carries them out. Senior North Korean military officers must weigh this fact as they proceed to place themselves at the very center of this highly charged nuclear attack enterprise. Their feckless leader will not be the only one to pay a heavy price if an armed conflict ensues.

The U.S. cannot be comforted or disillusioned by China’s stance. China has not shown a concerted and consistent interest in directing all parties to peacefully resolve the growing crisis. China is playing a dangerous double game that is compounding the threat and providing North Korea’s leadership with a false sense of security. This only emboldens North Korea and ensures that a looming armed conflict is one step closer to its ignition point.

A new path to a productive dialogue has not appeared. The U.S. and its allies simply watch one nuclear attack-related test after another. The latest South Korean initiative taking shape will not break new ground or defuse the mounting tension.

North Korea’s military elite somehow fails to recognize that the American people will not tolerate the dark shadow that only grows darker with each passing day.

Regime change propelled by North Korea’s senior military officers is the only solution. The alternative is the firestorm that nobody thinks will happen. Is this too extreme an outcome? Is there another way out? A process that only buys more time for North Korea to perfect its weapons of mass destruction — all aimed at the U.S. — is just not sustainable.

That is the single and simple truth. Something needs to be done now. We all know who can make that happen.